Honda has revealed the latest generation of its robot known as Asimo. Honda began working on this robot back in 1986 and it has improved considerably over the years. This latest installment to the program is capable of talking, opening cans and serving drinks and has been claimed as world’s most advanced humanoid robot so far.
The recently unveiled Asimo comes with enhanced intelligence, hand dexterity and is even capable of running not only forward but backwards as well. If that wasn’t enough; Asimo can climb and descent stairs, hop around, jump and is also capable of identifying voices and faces, of multiple people who are speaking at once. Asimo stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, in case you are wondering.
Asimo makes use of the two cameras embedded in its head to capture the visual information so that it can ascertain the movement that is taking place around it. Owing to this capability, it is able to judge the movement of multiple objects, can assess the distance and direction as well while it can use its hands to open a bottle, pour a drink and even carry goods while also being able to talk in sign language. The robot is about 1.3 meters tall and is gentle enough to hold a paper cup without damaging it.
Asimo is capable of running at a top speed of 5.6 Mph that is 1.8Mph faster when compared to the previous installment of Asimo. It is also capable of avoiding collision by predicting the direction in which any person will walk. Asimo can talk in English and Japanese and is capable of maintaining its balance even when it is pushed or pulled gently. The robot runs on a 51.8V Lithium ion battery and can work for about 40 minutes on a single charge.
The Chief Engineer, Satoshi Shigemi, said; ‘For the first time in Europe, Honda is demonstrating the all-new Asimo- the latest generation of Honda’s remarkable research into humanoid robotics. Previous generations of Asimo have demonstrated incredible fluidity and speed of movements. The all-new Asimo takes this mobility, task performing ability and interaction with people to the next level and moves Honda one step closer to its ultimate goal of developing a robot that can be a helper to people in need.’
The only downside to this is Honda making a statement that Asimo is still being worked upon and the company has no plan of turning it into a commercial product anytime soon.
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